Why DISPLAYBARCODE and PAGE tags not getting replaced

Aspose.Words Product Family
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1

Hello…
While trying to output a Word Document out of Word Template file, we see that DISPLAYBARCODE and PAGE tags are kept as is, in the generated .docx.

Does Aspose Words only replace the MERGEFIELD/MERGEFORMAT? And not the other tags like DISPLAYBARCODE, PAGE?

If not, what should be done to get barcode, page no. rendered directly in Word Doc.
If yes,

  • what all tags are NOT replaced by Aspose while rendering a .docx.
  • is any formatting/spacing also different in case of .pdf vs .docx rendering.

Kindly note

  • aspose-words 22.12
  • .pdf output is perfect from same template. Only issue with .docx
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@rootforms

Can you please clarify if you are using any specific code to perform the document generation, and what exactly you expect to see replaced in the output document?

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This is .pdf file output. Expecting such output in .docx

4

@rootforms To update field values in the document you can simply call Document.updateFields method.

The barcode in your document is not an image, it is represented by DISPLAYBARCODE field, to display such barcode it is required to render it. Aspose.Words itself does not render the DISPLAYBARCODE field. That is why a third-party tool is required for this task. Please see our documentation for more information:
https://docs.aspose.com/words/java/how-to-generate-a-custom-barcode-image-for-displaybarcode-field/

5

Thanks @alexey.noskov for responding!
As mentioned, we have no issues with rendering of data (as we are calling UPDATEFIELDS before save). No query regarding this.

As confirmed by you about rendering of DISPLAYBARCODE, could you please share which all such fields are NOT rendered by Aspose.Words. Or kindly point me to relevant documentation.

Regarding rendering of barcode, we already use Aspose.Barcode. Thereby .pdf has the barcode image. However, the same implementation doesn’t work with Word Doc. Need some insight here about what’s still missing. (if any other 3rd party will work here)
Or this is how DISPLAYBARCODE rendering works on Word Doc, post Aspose APIs? Kindly confirm.

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@rootforms As far as I know only DISPLAYBARCODE field requires additional tools to render it. All other fields are updated by Aspose.Words.

There is no need to update DISPLAYBARCODE field in MS Word documents, since MS Word updates these fields on the fly. DISPLAYBARCODE field does not even have field value, it has only field code:

1693×297 47.7 KB

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Hi @alexey.noskov , we found PAGE and DISPLAYBARCODE not getting rendered in EDIT mode of MS Word Docs so far. We wanted to get such exhaustive list from Aspose, so that our customers are aware of these limitations.

Now, as you confirm that DISPLAYBARCODE cannot be rendered by Aspose in Word Doc, want to highlight another constraint; switches on DISPLAYBARCODE, which Aspose need for scaling and width but MS Word Doc doesn’t support. Required parameters are missing or incorrect. , gets displayed due to presence of switches. (if switches are removed, the BARCODE gets rendered correctly in READ mode of MS Word Doc)
Could you please share some configuration(if any) or some handling to clear off the switches?

Kindly note that, the aim is, same output in both .pdf (already working) and .docx. And I am exploring here any gaps or special handling need for rendering .docx appropriately. Thanks!

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@rootforms

Could you please attach the problematic document where these fields are not updated? We will check the issue and provide you more information.

Please attach your problematic document here for testing. Since Aspose.Words does not update DISPLAYBARCODE field itself, the custom implementation of IBarcodeGenerator might accept invalid field code. So probably the message displayed by MS Word is valid of your case.

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pdf-no switches.pdf (610.5 KB)

outputpdf.pdf (54.9 KB)

outputword.docx (28.7 KB)

outputword-pdf.pdf (117.5 KB)

word-no switches.docx (35.4 KB)

@alexey.noskov , pfa the set of working/non-working ones.

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@rootforms Thank you for additional information. As I have mentioned above, Aspose.Words does not update DISPLAYBARCODE field itself. In your case the field is updated by your custom implementation of IBarcodeGenerator and most likely it process an invalid DISPLAYBARCODE field code as you expect. But MS Word does not expect such field code and expectedly shows an error. Please see MS Word documentation for more information about DISPLAYBARCODE field codes:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/field-codes-displaybarcode-6d81eade-762d-4b44-ae81-f9d3d9e07be3

Regarding PAGE field, unfortunately, I do not see any problems with it in the attached documents.

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Thanks @alexey.noskov for your support!
I think I got the info I was looking for, that Aspose won’t replace DISPLAYBARCODE and PAGE tags (and may be more) while rendering .docx.

1 Like
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Hi @alexey.noskov,

I wonder if there are any limitations to converting a template to a Word rather than a PDF output.
As mentioned above, the PDF output is as expected, but word isn’t.

For Barcode, your explanation makes sense, we are custom code for switches which is causing this issue, but the Page Number tag isn’t rendered as expected. Also, is there any additional documentation that is available, that could help us figure out other limitations while rendering a word output?

Thank you!
Brunda

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@gbrunda There are no limitations on document output to DOCX, as Aspose.Words is specifically designed to work with MS Word documents.
As I mentioned earlier, I was unable to identify any issues with the PAGE fields in the documents you shared above. All attached documents have one page and PAGE field expectedly shows 1.
If possible, could you please elaborate the problem you encountered with PAGE field and explain how to reproduce it on our side?

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@alexey.noskov , if you open any .docx from above, in ‘print layout’/EDIT mode, you will see the PAGE field (In READ mode, the PAGE field gets rendered with replaced value).
Here are the Template, the output PDF and the Word Doc for your reference. (view in Print Layout)
Template.docx (25.0 KB)
checkWordDoc.docx (28.7 KB)
goodPdf.pdf (55.2 KB)

Here is the PAGE (as well as NUMPAGES) field not being replaced in .docx.

780×193 9.92 KB

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@rootforms The fields should not be replaces with plain text. To see the field values simply press Alt+F9 in MS Word.

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@alexey.noskov - So, this is the rendered output that we are seeing [Provided above]. The expectation is that we see the page numbers and not tags.

The main question we have is: Using Aspose.Words, can we render a Word output? If yes, are there any tags that do not render correctly? At this point, we have identified Barcodes (without any switches) and Page Numbers, as shown above.

CC: @rootforms

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@gbrunda You can unlink fields in the document to replace them with simple text, but in this case they will no longer bee fields and will not reflect changes if the document is edited. Please see Document.unlinkFields method to unlink all fields in the document and Field.unlink method to unlink a particular field.

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@alexey.noskov - What is the point of unlinking those fields? These are merge fields and the expectation is that based on the record data, the field value will be calculated.

What you are suggesting will not meet our needs right?

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@gbrunda MERGEFIELD fields in MS Word documents are placeholders, they are replaced with data when you execute mail merge. Most fields in MS Word documents are represented by FieldStart, FieldSeparator and FieldEnd nodes. Content between FieldStart and FieldSeparator represent field code and content between FieldSeparator and FieldEnd represent field value, i.e. displayed value. When Aspose.Words updates fields, it updates the fields displayed value. Please see our documentation to learn more about fields:
https://docs.aspose.com/words/java/introduction-to-fields/

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Thank you, @alexey.noskov. Your suggestion about unlinking was beneficial. Pravin (@rootforms ) implemented the solution for our desired output.

1 Like